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Filling a Void The Genesis and Marketing of No Escape, Prison Rape

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Posted on January 26, 2004

November 1999

No Escape, Prison Rape tells the story of Rodney Hulin, a young man who was repeatedly abused in a Texas prison.

Four years ago I started the project that would eventually become No Escape, Prison Rape. From Law and Order to Chris Rock's stand-up, the issue of prison rape was surfacing in surprising places in popular culture. However, if you wanted to get statistics, to secure help for victims, or to define the nature of the problem, you were out of luck. In talking to survivors, prison administrators and my peers, I realized that there was an information void to be filled and I set out to make a film that gave a human face to an ill-defined problem. My first attempt at the project was a no-budget, student film that I made as my graduate thesis film at Pomona College. This 16-minute short was comprised of interviews with three prison rape survivors and Hi-8 prison footage that was shot by a crew member from Edward James Olmos' America Me. Though amateurish, it garnered a student film award and spurred me to continue the project after graduation. But what next? I was a green filmmaker and pretty much clueless about how to go about funding and producing a more substantial project.

May 2000

Despite numerous official complaints, Rodney's appeals for help went unanswered.

My first inclination was to seek advice from a filmmaker with experience and contacts, preferably someone with a background making films on prison. I called the office of Gabriel Films, a production company known for its criminal justice documentaries. When I met with the company's founder, filmmaker Jonathan Stack, producer of The Farm: Life Inside Angola Prison, he told me point blank: "It'll be impossible to get people to talk [about prison rape]. It's a taboo."

Despite Jonathan's precautionary advice, after having done my preliminary research I had faith that I would be able to get the "access" I would need. But I had no idea where to find the money to make the film. It appeared that there were few funding options besides the long-term and highly-competitive grant application process. No thanks. I had a very specific project, so maybe, I thought, there was someone out there interested in this specific subject, prison rape.

I discovered that Human Rights Watch (HRW) was preparing to do a study on the issue of prison rape in U.S. prisons. I figured I could pitch my project to HRW or to their primary funder for the project, a private foundation. I felt sure that I could demonstrate that a film on the topic of prison rape would compliment their book-length study by making it more accessible. I sent my student film and an introductory letter to the foundation that was funding the Human Rights Watch report. I hoped that a strategy of targeted fundraising would circumvent the long, frustrating grant process.

August 2000

It was quite a surprise and a bit intimidating to find myself, a few months later, meeting face to face with Ken Roth, President of Human Rights Watch, and Joanne Mariner the author of the HRW prison rape study. I felt that proving my knowledge of the issue and demonstrating the depth of my research would be the ultimate measure of whether my film would serve a purpose for HRW. Indeed, by thoroughly researching the topic and presenting a clear sense of the story that I wished to pursue, I was able to alleviate the doubts that HRW and the foundation had regarding my experience. Within a couple of months I had a budget to make a short film that would be rolled out in conjunction with HRW's study.

April 2001 - The Product

No Escape, Prison Rape was incorporated into the 2001 Human Rights Watch report on U.S. prison rape.

No Escape, Prison Rape was made with a more conservative, and jaded audience in mind. I didn't want to preach to the converted. Given the punitive climate in this country, I aimed to find a story that would negate sentiments like "they get what they deserve" and "lock 'em up and throw away the key." I corresponded with a number of prisoners, but in the end, it was a deceased prisoner's story that stood out - Rodney Hulin's ordeal of rape, unanswered grievances and suicide.

Rodney's case was well documented with medical records and official transfer requests. I was also able to talk to his family, interview a Texas prison warden and prisoners, and revisit the scene of his crime. Rodney was a petty arsonist who at the age of 17 got an 8-year, adult prison sentence - one could not help but feel that Rodney did not deserve what he got. This sympathetic story reflected what I had learned about prison rape victims: they are overwhelmingly young, non-violent offenders. And without gang connections, they turn out to be easy prey.

I surrounded Rodney's narrative with interviews with experts and people relevant to the case. While making the film, I learned that the process of developing trust is the most important thing in making any documentary that tells a personal story. This was especially true in my case, as I sought access into people's lives and into a veiled prison system.

Another huge challenge was figuring out a way to be able to interview inmates since most prisons have a closed-door policy. Seeking an in, I conducted research and talked to prison experts. I found out about the Carol Vance Unit in Texas, a prison that controls press access because it is an experimental, faith-based prison. This was one of the few places where I would have access to prisoners who could speak to the issues raised by Rodney's story. These interviews proved to be an essential piece of the film.

The Rodney Hulin Story takes the viewer inside the problem of prison rape. The six and a half minute short attached a human face to a widespread problem that had become a misunderstood pop culture joke. Despite the strength of the film on its own, I felt that it was not enough to raise awareness of the problem without offering any solutions. So in addition to the Hulin short, I completed a second piece called The Rules of the Game: Prison Rape and Reform. This second video more specifically defined the problem and set forth solutions from the perspectives of both the left (San Francisco County Jails' Prison Rape Protocol) and of the right (the Carol Vance unit faith-based prison). In April 2001, HRW rolled out their study, and both short films went online to accompany the nationwide campaign.

April 2001 - Present: Outreach

Gabriel London's film was shown to Congress and helped make the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 become a reality.

Unfortunately, I can't claim that I carefully constructed the outreach plan that led to the film's widespread use as an education tool. From the US Congress to the ACLU Prison Project to the Media That Matters Film Festival, the film found an audience eager to be educated about the complex issue of prison rape. The organization Stop Prisoner Rape, Inc. incorporated the film into their lobbying efforts. Furthermore, the film has been shown in university classrooms, and in police and jail training courses nationwide. The reason for this far-reaching success - more than anything, I think that the film filled a void.

The individuals and organizations that have used the film needed a way to introduce their audiences to the problem. The short format has been an asset to organizations that host panel events or hearings where a visual, concise introduction to the problem is key to beginning a discussion of potential solutions. A longer form documentary may not have done the job in the same way.

My aim when I set out to make the film was to create something that could change people's opinions about the treatment of prisoners. I hoped that eventually this shift in popular thought would lead to legislative change, positively affecting the criminal justice system. Indeed, throughout 2001 and 2002, there were discussions taking place nationwide on the topic of prison rape, and at many of these events, The Rodney Hulin Story would play, sparking debate and supporting further reform. My first goal was met as I witnessed my film directly influencing people's opinions.

But the most significant evidence of the film's impact was the passage of a bipartisan bill, "The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003." As the bill supported by Human Rights Watch, the DC think tank Hudson Institute and the nonprofit Stop Prisoner Rape (SPR) circulated through Congress, SPR contacted me about sending the film to Senator Kennedy, the Democratic Senate sponsor of the bill. After his office saw the film, I was contacted about the possibility of bringing Rodney's mother to DC to testify. In June 2003, Rodney Hulin's mother, Linda Bruntmyer, made the journey from Amarillo, Texas to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee as the lead-off witness in hearings on the prison rape bill.

I was astonished as I watched the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 became a reality. In light of the events of the past four years, I am amazed at the distance my short documentary has traveled: from film festivals in Europe and the US to activist meetings and hearings in the US Congress, from the Indianapolis Police Department to the classroom of a Texas community college teacher - Rodney Hulin's story, representing thousands of others, has made a difference.